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Sunday, March 25, 2012

Whole Roast Chicken and Vegetables au Vin… Even Better the Next Day

Since
joining the Food Matters Project, I have been looking forward to Mark Bittman
dinners on the weekends. This week’s recipe is Vegetables au Vin with Coq, chosen by Evi+Sam of Fifth Floor Kitchen. Thank you for a great
pick guys! Friends, head over to their cool website for the original recipe.
Also, check out the creative spins on this recipe by other FMP members at our
website.

Mark
Bittman called for four bone-in chicken thighs, but since we haven’t had any
meat for the past two weeks, I thought it would be a good idea to add some
more. There was an organic, free range, whole chicken at the store for only
eight bucks and I got that. Instead of cutting it up, I opted to roast it whole,
adapting Ina Garten’s Perfect Roast Chicken recipe. The vegetables cooked in the
wine sauce were served on the side with some rice. Since eggplants are not in
season, I picked some asparagus instead and threw in some carrots and celery to
add crunch.

According to DFJ, this meal was like a birthday meal for a country bumpkin in rural France. Wholesome, simple, and scrumptious altogether. I couldn’t agree with him more.

I
loved the first meal, but I have to say that the leftovers won my heart. Sometimes
the only thing that’s certain in life is leftovers… if you made something delicious
the night before, you always know that tomorrow, the leftovers will taste even
better. That was definitely the case for this recipe. Before it was put away, the
rest of the chicken was cut up into parts and added in the vegetables. So, the
chicken pieces soaked up the good sauce and when leftovers were reheated in a
skillet with a bit of butter, it tasted so much better. The chicken meat was so
tender it came right off of the bones, rich, juicy, buttery… luscious! LUSCIOUS
is the word to describe it!

In hindsight, I will follow directions closely…
Or I could just do everything the same, except after the chicken is roasted, I
will cut it up and throw the pieces in with the vegetables and cook until the
sauce is thick, then add a tablespoon of butter. This way, I will get that
luscious taste from the get-go.

Remove
the chicken giblets and rinse the inside and outside well with water. Place chicken
in a roasting pan. Sprinkle salt and pepper inside and outside the chicken and
spread with your hands.

Squeeze
¾ of the lemon’s juice outside the chicken and spread with your hands. Squeeze the
remaining ¼ of the lemon’s juice inside the chicken. Pour a tablespoon of olive
oil inside the chicken and coat the outside with another tablespoon. Cut ½ of
the squeezed out lemon into slices and stuff inside the chicken.

Smush
3 garlic cloves and stuff inside the chicken. Using a garlic press, press the
remaining cloves and spread with your hands outside the chicken. Sprinkle a
tablespoon of the herbs inside chicken and another tablespoon outside chicken.

Roast
in an oven preheated to 425 degrees F for 1 hour and 20 minutes.

Vegetables au Vin

(adapted
from Mark Bittman’s Vegetables au Vin with Coq)

3
slices of bacon, cut in small pieces

1
tbsp olive oil

2
cloves garlic, minced

1
medium onion, roughly chopped

8
white mushrooms, 1 large portabella mushroom

1
cup chicken stock

1
cup Pinot Noir

2
bay leaves

fresh
parsley sprigs

1
tbsp dried thyme

handful
of green beans

2
carrots, chopped

3
celery stalks, chopped

handful
of asparagus

½
tsp salt

pepper,
freshly ground

Cook
bacon pieces in a large pot over medium heat until slightly brown. Add a
tablespoon of olive oil and let it heat up for about 30 seconds. Sauté the
garlic until golden brown. Add the onions and cook until soft, about 1 minute.
Add the mushrooms and cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the chicken stock,
wine, bay leaves, parsley sprigs, and dried thyme. Bring to a boil, then add the
beans and cook for a minute. Add carrots and celery and cook for a minute. Add
asparagus and cook for another minute. Season with salt and a good dose of
pepper. Let simmer on low for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Serve
around the roasted chicken and make sure to get a lot of sauce to soak the
underside of the chicken.

What
to do with the leftovers:

Cut
up what’s left of the chicken parts and put these in the same container as the vegetables.
Keep in refrigerator.

The
next day or meal, heat half a tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over
medium heat. When the butter starts to sizzle, place the chicken and vegetables
with the wine sauce on the skillet. Heat for 12-15 minutes, turning the chicken
pieces over half way into the cooking time and stirring the vegetables
occasionally.

About Me

Hello, my name is Margarita. I try to live a healthy lifestyle by eating well and working out. I am a cooking enthusiast and I like sharing my love for good food. Most of my recipes contain lots of vegetables and perhaps a bit of meat here and there. Staying active is one of the things that keep me sane. I love doing yoga, walking, hiking, biking, lifting weights, and occasional running. Join me in my food, travel, and life adventures and together let's eat well, cook right, live strong, and be healthy!